Eagles give up Matthews to land coveted corner in Darby

The Eagles Friday gave up receiver Jordan Matthews and a third-round pick to Buffalo to fill their need at cornerback in the form of third-year speedster Ronald Darby.
The associated press — Bill Wippert

The Eagles upgraded the cornerback position Friday, which for those keeping track could have been done by plucking one of the names of the available street free agents from a hat.

This was a legit move, though, as the Eagles reeled in 23-year-old career starter Ronald Darby from the Buffalo Bills.

You get what you pay for and Darby, who has track speed but not exceptional ball skills, cost the Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews, a buddy of Carson Wentz and since joining the team, statistically one of the most productive pass catchers in the league. The Birds also forked over a third-round draft pick in 2018.

“This isn’t one where you’re celebrating and doing a dance because you’re giving up a good player and a good pick,” Eagles vice president of football operations Howie Roseman said. “But in this league you’re not going to be able to get anything unless you give something.”

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It was a busy day for Bills head coach Sean McDermott, once defensive coordinator of the Eagles. They shipped receiver Sammy Watkins, the fourth overall pick in the 2014 draft, to the Rams for cornerback E.J. Gaines. Roseman said the Birds weren’t apprised of the Watkins deal before closing their trade.

Matthews and the Bills will be in Philly this Thursday for the second preseason game.

The Bills originally took Darby, a product of Florida State, in the second round of the 2015 draft. Roseman praised the obvious in citing Darby’s “rare” speed.

“You look around the league, and it is a cornerback-deficient league,” Roseman said. “It’s hard to find guys that have been solid starters and can play at a high level. And teams that have them aren’t really ready to move them. You can never have enough of those guys.”

Darby (5-11, 195) wasn’t around when Jim Schwartz was defensive coordinator of the Bills in 2014. Darby clocked a sizzling 4.38 in the 40-yard dash at the scouting combine, where he also registered an off-the-charts vertical leap of 42 ½ inches.

Still, if you’re keeping count the Eagles have three Bills starters on defense, the others linebacker Nigel Bradham and cornerback Ron Brooks, now nursing a strained hamstring.

Darby is a tackler, his 69 stops ranking fourth on the Bills last season. He picked off two passes in his rookie season.

The Eagles have been seeking a corner for weeks. They inquired about free agent relic Darrelle Revis and asked the Seahawks what it would take to get Richard Sherman.

Jalen Mills played in all 16 games as a rookie, yet has no starts. Journeyman veteran Patrick Robinson has starting experience but no confidence. Third-round pick Rasul Douglas has upside. The Eagles think Sidney Jones, their second-round choice this year, would have been a first-rounder had he not blown out an Achilles’ tendon. C.J. Smith? Please.

Jettisoning Matthews sure makes it look like Nelson Agholor has a job locked up as the slot receiver. That may not please Eagles fans who are used to the Agholor who on fourth-and-one running the jet sweep loses one yard.

Then again, Roseman went no further than to say Agholor “had a good spring.”

Matthews was selected in the second round of the 2014 draft out of Vanderbilt. The wideout is among just five NFL players with 65 or more receptions and 800 or more receiving yards in each of their first three seasons.

“Jordan Matthews since the day we drafted him, unbelievable teammate,” Roseman said. “Unbelievable worker. Obviously incredibly productive. Historically productive in Eagles history. Hard to pull the trigger on a trade like that and you’re giving up that kind of player and person and by the same token, the draft pick is big, too.”

The addition of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith made Matthews expendable. Mack Hollins and Shelton Gibson were selected on the third day of the draft last spring.

Matthews had grown frustrated answering questions about his future. He ripped Daniel Jeremiah of the NFL Network, who speculated that Matthews had no role going forward with the Birds.

“It hurts when people you care about leave,” Roseman said. “The hardest part about this was talking to Jordan about it. It never gets any easier in this business.

“However good he is as a player, he’s a better person. But we’ve got to do what we’ve got to do in the best interest of this team moving forward, and that’s why we made the trade.”